The Delhi Capitals may not have won the match against Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, however, their skipper Rishabh Pant surely made some new fans with his wits and cunningness with the hopes of avoiding a massive fine as ‘Delay In Game’ penalty.

Worried of being slapped with a Rs 12 lakh penalty based on the new, stricter rules established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the wicket-keeper batsman quickly washed his hands of any possibilities of getting in trouble.

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During Delhi Capitals’ fielding, the on-field umpire halted the game to check whether the allowed number of players were in fact within the 30-yard circle or not. This is when Pant’s best friend on the field, the stump mic, picked up his voice as he walked up to the official and told them that this delay was not taking place because of him.

"That's one minute being taken by you, umpire," Pant’s voice was heard by the fans who were watching the match live and the fans were quick to talk about it:

"That one minute taken by you, umpire!"
Rishabh Pant on the slight delay from umpire's end in Ashwin's over#RRvsDC

— Rahul Pandey (@sportstoryguy) April 15, 2021

Rishabh Pant is a proper character. I've never seen a cricketer telling umpire to hurry up. In other words, he's saying he won't accept responsibility for time lost due to umpire's time wasting actions.. #RRvDC

— Tat'uRadebe (@hlubizer) April 15, 2021

Rishabh Pant needs to be just that extra careful. What if the umpire fimes him for that chatter? #RRvDC #IPL #IPL2021

— Funny Gavaskar (@FGavaskar) April 15, 2021

Pant: This one minute is taken by you umpire.

Third umpire: pic.twitter.com/OFsIIOBxYt

— Monica (@monicas004) April 15, 2021

Rishabh Pant telling the umpire, "one minute taken by you" so he isn't fined for slow over rate . #DCvsRR

— S I D D H A R T H (@breakingbadass) April 15, 2021

Pant not only tried his best to save his franchise from an avoidable financial loss but also did his best to carry the team on his shoulders after the Delhi Capitals deflated in their powerplay thanks to some stunning work done by Rajasthan Royals pacers Jaydev Unadkat and Mustafizur Rahman. Walking to the middle of the Wankhede Stadium with his team struggling at 37 for 4, the southpaw went on to score 51 off 32 deliveries and and guided the total to a relatively respectable of 147.

As far as the ‘delay in game’ fine is concerned, the BCCI had reached into the pocket of Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the same cause during the match against the Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on April 10.

Captain MS Dhoni fined INR Rs 12 lakh for Chennai Super Kings' slow over-rate against Delhi Capitals. #CSKvDC | #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/ZpcI8eHzsK

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 10, 2021

After losing their second match of the season, the Delhi Capitals now find themselves at the very middle of the IPL Points Table, at the number four spot with, just above the Rajasthan Royals and under Punjab Kings.

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